Once Saved, Always Saved? (Part 2)

As I mentioned in my first post in this series (Once Saved, Always Saved? - Part 1 ), there are typically three main objections to eternal security. The first objection is that the belief in eternal security leads Christians to take their walk with God less seriously, feeling they can freely sin and still be saved.

There's some truth to that. There are Christians who use their belief in eternal security as an excuse to sin. But there are also Christians who don't believe in eternal security that also sin willingly and repeatedly, believing they can simply ask God for forgiveness afterwards. Unfortunately, there are those on both sides of the camp that try to take advantage of God's grace and mercy and the problem with some Christians believing they can freely sin is not new (see Rom 6:1-8). However, any truly saved Christian with even a basic level of spiritual maturity will seek to live a life pleasing to God, whether he or she believes in eternal security or not. Any Christian that believes he or she can freely sin is either unsaved or terribly immature. The saved, mature Christian will be driven to please God out of love and gratitude towards him.

The second common objection is that eternal security violates "free will." Those that raise this objection argue that God will not "force" people to stay saved if they decide to deny their faith and/or choose to return to a life of sin. However, there are two things to consider here. The first is that if one is truly saved, that person will never truly deny Christ and the faith. I John 2:19 says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us." This passage clearly teaches that those who abandon the faith and deny Christ were never truly Christians, and therefore never truly saved to begin with. It's important to understand that this passage isn't talking about those that simply fall back into a life of disobedience or quit going to church, but those who renounce their faith and deny Christ (e.g. Jews who later decide Jesus is not the Son of God). Simply put, if one truly renounces the faith, he or she was never truly saved to start with.

But what of those who don't actually renounce their faith, but perhaps quit going to church or fall back into a sinful lifestyle? Those that have truly been saved will feel the sting of guilt and remorse for the way they are living. The Holy Spirit never leaves and will continue to convict the fallen believer of sin and push him or her back to Christ. The Bible provides a number of examples of those who have fallen into a pattern of disobedience, but which God never leaves. The nation of Israel is one of those examples. Israel continually fell into disobedience, yet God never left her and she remained the chosen nation, even in her rebellion. Also, there a numerous times in which the Bible describes the Christian's relationship with God as a Father/son relationship. A son is always the son of a loving father, even though the son might rebel and disobey.

I could continue describing a number of other examples, but admittedly, while I think they are helpful in understanding eternal security, they are mostly anecdotal. What matters most is what the Bible has to say on these matters. In the following posts, I'll discuss those passages in the Bible most relevant to this discussion.